EASTER SEALS MIDWEST

Thursday, November 29, 2012

The Speed of Presenting Part 2

Yesterday I talked about the difficulties presenting on a team and today I'm going to talk about my presentation style.

I was asked this question by a police officer a month ago and a teacher last week in Vegas. The question was, "Do you always talk that fast?" I actually love getting that question because there are so many elements in play as to why I do talk fast.

In yesterday's blog I stated that, in the first race I broadcasted, I over analyzed my words and the order of play with play being who's turn it is to speak. When I analyze my words I will right away over analyze them and quickly the words become more important than their meaning. What this means is I know what to say and I know what my intended meaning is but I will over think it and become lost in perfecting how to say it.

If you have seen my presentation (by the way... I'm doing a Christmas sale right now. If you buy my presentation on DVD you get a FREE copy of my book, Finding Kansas. The link to order is on the upper right) I speak at a super fast rate. As mentioned, I do get questions on it and by keeping my speed up I don't have time to analyze what I am saying. Two days ago I gave a presentation to a training class at TouchPoint and I made it a point to slow down for 20 seconds and I stumbled upon myself. I thought about what I was saying, how I was saying it, and I began to see the class.

See the class? What does this mean? Another thing about speaking fast is that it doesn't allow me the time or mental space to process what those in the audience are doing. Just like driving a fast car, I have to put all my concentration on keep my presentation on track when I speak fast. I don't have the ability to think about if a person is looking at me or not. I don't have the ability to process if eye contact is being made. By speaking fast I eliminate all the fear of public speaking because the only thing that matters is making sure I don't lose track of what I am saying.

Thinking back on my life I can think of many times that, when I was passionate about something, my verbal speed picked up. Another thing that plays into this whole thing is that my brain often is operating at that fast of a pace. I really click when it gets into a singular pattern (perhaps this is why Kansas is so important as it aligns the entire brain on one subject because, instead of thinking about six different things such as eye contact, nods, facial expressions, time, and lights I am solely focused on delivering the information.

I'd be interested in attempting an entire presentation at a slower speed. Well, maybe not interested in doing it but interested in the results. I don't believe it would end well. Just the few moments I have done it in the past have created such a spike in social anxiety. Just writing about it has made my skin crawl because I know I would become my normal social self and over analyze everything.

In the end it's my speed that allows me to be the presenter I am. I know some people have a hard time following me and to them I apologize, but if I were to slow down there would be nothing. Speed is the only thing that supersedes my over-active brain therefore I will and have to continue on presenting at a fast clip because if I didn't there would be nothing.

1 comment:

I am a fast speaker myself for the most part. However, I am capable of slowing down (I just don't do it consistently.).

Talking very fast can make people feel anxious. On the other hand, talking too slow can make people feel sleepy. But if it's just right, people will feel at ease and relaxed while remained engaged.

I am fortunate to know some very good public speakers in OT. So, I take note of what they are doing and try to incorporate some of what they are doing into my presentation style.

Unfortunately, speaking at a good pace is something that has not consistently been done in my real life yet. I have the components in terms of what I might say to somebody... but my tone of voice and talking speed still need some fine tuning. For me to be successful in what I do, however, this is not optional, but mandatory!

Who I Am

Hello, my name is Aaron Likens and thanks for visiting my blog. I am the Autism Ambassador for Easter Seals Midwest and also the author of the book "Finding Kansas. My passion in life is to raise the awareness and understanding of the autism spectrum through this blog as well as the many presentations I give. For myself, as much as it is a passion, it is personal because I was given the diagnosis of Asperger's when I was 20. Back then there wasn't much info and I fell into a pit of despair. I stayed there for 15 months but then I eventually discovered myself through writing and now here I am and here you are on my blog. There are well over 1,000 posts on this blog as I started blogging in March of 2010. So whether you're reading today's blog, or are skimming through stories of the past, I hope that your time here gives you a better glimps of what living life on the autism spectrum, or, "other side of the wall" is like. If you do like what you see please follow me on Facebook as that's where I share when I've written a new blog as well as announcing where I will be presenting. Please note that the opinions expressed on this blog are mine and may not be reflective of Easter Seals Midwest.

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Finding Kansas Revisited

To mark 10 years since I started writing my book I did a blog series with my thoughts from today on what I wrote then. This was the first time I ever read anything I had ever written.

The Sunglasses Experiment

I ran a sunglasses experiment to judge why eye contact is so difficult. I wore them for about 15 days, then I switched back to my normal glasses to see how big of a difference there was. By clicking my picture you can be taken to the page that has the complete experiement all in one place.

About Me

I am the Autism Ambassador for Easter Seals Midwest and also the author of Finding Kansas: Living and Decoding Asperger's Syndrome. My passion in life is raising awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorders and to help the world understand how the mind of a person on the spectrum works. I can do this because I am on the spectrum (Asperger's).
I was diagnosed at the age of 20 and after the diagnosis a lot of my quirks made sense. I didn't understand who I was though and went into a deep depression. Through this depression though I became very keen on my inner self and I started to write. I wrote and I wrote and before I knew it I wrote a book.
5 years later I am, among other things, giving presentations to police, teachers, and parents and am now starting my quest on making the best blog possible!
The views on this blog are mine and may not be reflective of Easter Seals Midwest.
If you have any questions, or comments, or have an article idea please email me at aaron.likens@yahoo.com.